Complex’s U.K. Instagram Post May Justify U.S. Copyright Case

A media company’s U.K. Instagram post could sustain a U.S. copyright case based on allegations that it created a copy of a photo on the platform’s U.S. servers, a Manhattan federal court ruled.

Fashion photographer Marc Richardson owns a copyright in his photo of the British rapper Skepta. New York-based Complex Media Inc.'s U.K. Instagram account allegedly reposted the photo without permission—with help from U.K.-based Woot Media—and Richardson sued for infringement.

Complex moved to dismiss the case because Richardson failed to outline any acts of infringement that occurred in the U.S. But the U.S. District Court for the Southern District ...